GLIDDEN TOUR REVIVAL - 1946
The White Motor Company. Glidden Tour Revival. WELCOME TO GLIDDEN AUTOMOBILISTS. A SOUVENIR COMMEMORATING THE 1946 REVIVAL OF THE GLIDDEN TOURS. Cleveland, Ohio. 1946. 14 silver prints 8 x 10 inches with one smaller. Interleaving tissue bearing printed captions. The photos are from the 1904, 1905, 1907 and 1908 tours.
“In December 1902 AAA conceived of a tour of different parts of the country where a variety of road conditions would be encountered with the 1904 World’s Fair at St. Louis as the final destination. Three major routes were selected, leaving from New York City, Philadelphia and Baltimore. Officially, 77 cars participated in the run, of which 66 made it to St. Louis. The 1,350-mile run from New York to St. Louis took 18 days and culminated August 12th with a grand parade through the city to the fair site, featuring the 66 finishers and 200 local cars.
AAA provided the participants with maps and descriptions of the routes through their areas, along with local driving laws and licensing requirements. They sent out pilot cars to mark confusing turns in the route with confetti and encouraged local motorists to drive out and meet the touring groups and to accompany the groups out of town. The clubs arranged for letters of greeting from local officials, offered listings of local hotels, assisted in securing reservations, arranged for meals, and, in most instances, provided some form of entertainment. They also arranged for cars to be lodged overnight in a centralized location so they could be viewed by the public, and if repairs were needed, arranged for suitable overnight garage space.
One of the original participants, Charles J. Glidden who was a wealthy New England industrialist and avid automobile supporter, became the most notable sponsor for the next year’s tour. Subsequently, as Glidden continued this offer over the years, AAA tours became known as the Glidden Tours. “
Being halted during WWII The Glidden Tours were revived in 1946, by the Veteran Motor Car Club of America (VMCCA) and have continued since with antique cars traveling premarked routes and stopping in local towns to show off their vehicles, many people dressed in period costume. The tour was open to anyone with an automobile being at least 25 years old. Over a period of seven days the race was to cover about 1,400 miles beginning in Springfield, Massachusetts and then traveling through New England, New York, Pennsylvania with its destination being Washington, D.C.
Sources: AAA Exchange.
